But wasn’t it Daryl Katz who outlawed any competition by the Coliseum with his (oops, our) downtown arena? He challenges a city bylaw that prevents his opening a liquor store only 30 metres from an existing liquor outlet in the Ice District. How his perspective changes when he’s the one being limited!

Council stifled competition by the former Coliseum against Mr. Katz. It’s only right that it apply the same rule to Mr. Katz’s liquor store. Fair is fair.

Crimes deserved consecutive prison terms

Two murders, two years apart, both involving Indigenous women in the same perpetrator’s trailer and the justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench sees fit to make each conviction of 17 years concurrent?

Would this be because they were Indigenous and therefore their lives just weren’t that important? Those two sentences should have been consecutive. That would have been the proper conclusion to these identical heinous crimes.

Jim Holowchak, Edmonton

Citadel’s apology not enough

Like many, I added my voice to the outrage last week as the Citadel Theatre offended the bastion of our democracy — free expression — by refusing to allow Jordan Peterson to speak at their venue.

This was confounded for me as the Citadel Theatre stands dedicated to my grandfather Henry (Harry) Hole. As written in the Citadel’s program in 1995, “Harry considered all individuals equal” and “cherished his blessings, friends in all walks of life, his city, his country and its opportunities.”

The Citadel’s vision statement commits to an “inclusive, innovative and international approach” to their future. Therefore their attempt at an apology on Friday did not go far enough. The Citadel should admit their grievous error directly and publicly apologize to Jordan Peterson and commit to offering him space in their venue another time in the future.

To ensure that this does not happen again, individuals responsible for this decision should resign or be removed. Perhaps then, the Citadel will be able to begin to restore its reputation. Support for arts organizations is difficult enough without alienating a whole community by breaching a fundamental element of our society — that of allowing free expression and interchange of ideas.

Elaine Hole Pedersen, Edmonton

Theatre yields to political correctness

While it is true the Citadel has the right to cancel a speaker, their doing so shows a lack of courage and a willingness to succumb to the cries of political correctness from the mob and, apparently, the federal government which approved a huge grant of $504,000 the same day as the cancellation.

The underlying point of the last play I saw there, The Humans, was to attempt to inculcate politically correct values. I will no longer attend The Citadel as it has become an arm of government propaganda dissemination. Big Brother is taking over the arts.

Mac Walker, Edmonton

Citadel boards must step up

It appears the intolerant and anti-democratic attitude so pervasive at Wilfrid Laurier University has arrived at the Citadel Theatre. Professor and author Jordan Peterson applied to to use their facility for a book launch but has been refused.

Considering that the Citadel has received millions of tax dollars over the years the organization has an obligation to the community to make i’s facilities available for lawful functions, especially those that generate revenue for the theatre.

The website for the Citadel shows a long list of prominent and influential Edmontonians as members of the board of directors and the board of governors. Time for these people to step forward and ensure that the theatre is as inclusive as the vision statement so clearly states.

Richard Kayler, Edmonton

Letters welcome

We invite you to write letters to the editor. A maximum of 150 words is preferred. Letters must carry a first and last name, or two initials and a last name, and include an address and daytime telephone number. All letters are subject to editing. We don’t publish letters addressed to others or sent to other publications. Email: letters@edmontonjournal.com

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.